Heiko Westermann

Heiko Westermann
Personal information
Full name Heiko Westermann
Date of birth 14 August 1983 (1983-08-14) (age 28)
Place of birth Alzenau, West Germany
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Defender / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club Hamburger SV
Number 4
Youth career
1988–1994 SG Schimborn
1994–1998 1. FC Hösbach
1998–2000 FC Bayern Alzenau
2000–2001 SpVgg Greuther Fürth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2001–2002 SpVgg Greuther Fürth II 29 (1)
2002–2005 SpVgg Greuther Fürth 83 (2)
2005–2007 Arminia Bielefeld 67 (5)
2007–2010 Schalke 04 92 (12)
2010– Hamburger SV 51 (3)
National team‡
2003–2004 Germany U21 2 (0)
2008– Germany 24 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:24, 20 December 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:59, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

Heiko Westermann (born 14 August 1983 in Alzenau, West Germany) is a German footballer who plays as defender for Hamburger SV and the German national team. Westermann is known for his good all-round abilities and goal scoring. He is a versatile player who can play any defensive position and has also played as a midfielder on occasion.

Contents

Club career

Greuther Fürth

Westermann began his professional career with 2. Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth. He joined the senior squad in July 2002 but did not make his first appearance until 26 January 2003 in a 1–0 win over MSV Duisburg. He played a total of 92 games in his three seasons with the club, scoring five goals.

Arminia Bielefeld

Following the 2004–05 season, Westermann signed for recently promoted Bundesliga club Arminia Bielefeld. In his first season he played in every single game for Bielefeld, including 34 league and five DFB-Pokal matches. The following season Westermann remained an integral part of the team, missing only one match.

Schalke 04

He was transferred to Schalke in 2007 for a fee of €2.8 million. He played his first game for Schalke on 24 July in a Ligapokal fixture against 1. FC Nuremberg. Schalke won 4–2 with Westermann contributing one goal. Missing Schalke's first two league games through injury, Westermann made his Bundesliga debut for the club on 26 August 2007. He was substituted on in the 79th minute for Rafinha in a third round match against VfL Wolfsburg. For the remainder of the season, Westermann started all 31 of Schalke's Bundesliga matches. He was also instrumental in Schalke's Champions League campaign, being the only outfield player for the club to play every single minute.[1]

With new coach Fred Rutten taking charge of Schalke for the 2008–09 season, combined with his keen eye for goal, Westermann has often been positioned in midfield. The current season has been Westermanns highest scoring yet. He scored both goals in a 2–0 DFB-Pokal win over Hannover 96. He also scored a goal in three consecutive Bundesliga matches including the equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw against Werder Bremen and a game winning goal against VfL Bochum.

Hamburg

In July 2010, Westermann agreed to a transfer to Hamburger SV reportedly in the region of €7.5 million.[2]

National team

Westermann played his first match for the German national team in February 2008 against Austria. Germany won the match 3–0. Westermann was part of the German team that finished in second place at Euro 2008. He has since played a total of ten games for Germany. On 2 June 2009, Westermann scored the first goal in Germany's 7–2 rout against United Arab Emirates national football team. He was part of Germany's preliminary selection for the World Cup 2010, but had to pull out because of an injury suffered in a friendly against Hungary. He has been capped 24 times by Germany and has scored 3 goals for them since 2008.[3]

Heiko Westermann: International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 September 2008 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein  Liechtenstein 0–6 0–6 2010 WCQ
2 2 June 2009 Dubai, United Arab Emirates  United Arab Emirates 0–1 2–7 Friendly
3 7 September 2010 RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany  Azerbaijan 1–0 6–1 Euro 2012 Q

Career statistics

Club performance

As of 6 August 2011 (2011 -08-06)
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
2002–03 Greuther Fürth 2. Bundesliga 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
2003–04 34 0 4 2 0 0 38 2
2004–05 33 2 3 0 2 1 38 3
2005–06 Arminia Bielefeld Bundesliga 34 2 5 0 0 0 39 2
2006–07 33 3 1 0 0 0 34 3
2007–08 Schalke 04 32 4 3 0 9 0 44 4
2008–09 33 6 3 2 8 1 44 9
2009–10 27 2 4 1 0 0 31 3
2010–11 Hamburger SV 34 2 2 0 0 0 36 2
2011–12 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1
Career total 272 21 26 6 19 2 322 29

Honours

National team

References

  1. ^ "5 - Heiko Westermann". UEFA. http://www1.uefa.com/tournament/players/player=69864/index.html. Retrieved 8 March 2009. 
  2. ^ "Westermann leaves Schalke to join Hamburg". ESPN Soccernet. 21 July 2010. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=809598&sec=transfers&cc=5901. Retrieved 21 July 2010. 
  3. ^ "World Cup 2010: Germany defender Heiko Westermann ruled out with foot injury". Telegraph. 31 May 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/germany/7789958/World-Cup-2010-Germany-defender-Heiko-Westermann-ruled-out-with-foot-injury.html. Retrieved 10 June 2009. 

External links

Hamburger SV – current squad
Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2008 Runners-up